Can some prosthetics give athletes an advantage?

MARK COLVIN: After the most stunning upset of the Paralympics, questions are being asked about the way prosthetics can influence a disabled athlete's performance. It's reminiscent of the rows in Olympic swimming over fast suits in the pool.

The man known as the 'blade runner', South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, has lashed out at the man who beat him. Pistorius says the blades worn by Brazil's Alan Oliveira gave him an unfair advantage.

Martin Cuddihy reports.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: When Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt won gold in London, no one said he had an unfair advantage because of his height. That's one of the main differences between the Olympics and the Paralympics.

At the Paralympics, an athlete can effectively change a part or parts of their body to alter their athletic performance. Stephen Wilson is a former Paralympic sprinter.

STEPHEN WILSON: Theoretically we would say that, obviously, if you have longer limbs, your stride length increases. So if you're able to maintain the same stride frequency with a longer stride length, you're going to run significantly quicker.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: That's the complaint of Oscar Pistorius. The world record holder won the 200 metre title in both Athens and Beijing. He was leading the final in London, but with 30 metres to go, was run down by Brazil's Alan Oliveira. After his loss, the South African was not gracious.

OSCAR PISTORIUS: The guy's legs are unbelievably long. Not taking away from Alan's performance - he's a great athlete - but, you know, the guys, when we did the measuring in the call rooms, a year ago go these guys were over here; they're a lot taller and you can't compete stride length, you saw how far he came back, so... yeah, we're not racing in a fair race, yeah, but um... I gave my best, had a great night.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: Stephen Wilson has won three gold medals, two silvers, and a bronze. He's now a teacher, retired from athletics, but still believes competition is fairer on able-bodied athletes at the Olympics.

STEPHEN WILSON: I think at the Olympics, and I think, you know, is it it's an even playing field? I think when it comes to Paralympic athletes, those areas become, of advantage and disadvantage, become far easier to see, and we do question, you know, is there fairness?

MARTIN CUDDIHY: So you don't think it's possible to have a completely even field at the Paralympics? Uh... you can in terms of disability in some events. Sprinting's really about stride frequency and stride length. If you're increasing your stride length, well, you're taking care of one of those categories, and T43s have the capacity to actually manipulate that.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: The vice-president of the Australian Orthotic Prosthetic Association is Harvey Blackney. He says the man who beat Oscar Pistorius, Alan Oliveira, appears taller than he would be if he didn't have prosthetic legs.

HARVEY BLACKNEY: Yeah he looked about between 70 and 80 millimetres higher in that segment between his knee joint and the ground.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: So Oscar Pistorius has a legitimate grievance?

HARVEY BLACKNEY: Oh, I think it's a valid claim.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: The International Paralympic Committee says all the athletes and their prosthetics were checked prior to the race, and all were approved for competition. Most of the sprinters use a prosthesis known as a 'cheetah foot'. It acts like a coiled spring, reproducing about 95 per cent of the energy a human foot would.

Cameron Ward is a prosthetist working at the Paralympic Games. He says it would be fairer if they all used the same prosthetic, but it's almost impossible.

CAMERON WARD: Every prosthesis is completely custom-made to fit that particular person, and every amputee's stump or residual limb is of different lengths, so the lengths between the end of their stump and the ground needs to be different for everybody.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: He says there are some parallels between the prosthetic debate, and the debate about the unfair advantage provided by some swimsuits.

CAMERON WARD: The thing with prosthetics though is that these guys have to use them, so the swimmers can swim without the swimsuits; the athletes can't run without their prostheses, so it's a little bit different in that regard, but sure, it's a technological debate, and I think it will continue on for some time.

MARTIN CUDDIHY: Former Paralympian, Stephen Wilson, is hopeful the competition doesn't get distorted.

STEPHEN WILSON: I definitely think that everyone wants a fair, a fair field. We want to know that the best athlete's winning, not the best manipulation of prosthetics.